As many of you know, I lived in Tijuana, Mexico for two years as a missionary for my church. During that time, I developed love for Mexican food, especially pan dulce. Pandulce is a delicious sweet bread. I ate this stuff like it was going out of style while I was on my mission. If I ever found money in the streets, I would stop what I was doing and head directly to the nearest panaderia to buy something. Thankfully, because I walked all the time, I didn’t gain any weight from eating so much sugar, flour, and egg.

Since I’ve been home, my consumption of pan dulce has decreased dramatically. It’s hard to find a good panaderia in town. Thankfully, last night my wife and I found a great panaderia close to where we live.

It felt like I was right back in Mexico. The setup in this panaderia was just like the ones I frequented in Tijuana. Their selection was amazing. They had everything: conchas, mantecados, chilendrinas, and my personal favorite, puerquitos. The quality of puerquito is how I judge a panaderia. A puerquito is a ginger bread cookie in the shape of a big. They’re big, soft, and chewy. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

We picked out about a half dozen items. Pan dulce was cheap in Mexico. Because I was on a super tight budget as a missionary, it was a cheap, albeit unhealthy source of food. I figured because we’re in the States, the prices would be more expensive. To my surprise, they weren’t. We left the store spending $1.90 for six BIG pieces of pan dulce. That would be about 19 pesos in Mexico. If I remember correctly, that’s how much I usually spent on pan dulce while in Mexico.

Pan dulce makes a great desert. It’s also a delicious breakfast and goes well with a glass of milk. Pan dulce really fills you up because the portions are huge. You won’t find any dainty overpriced pastries like you do at Panera Bread. So, next time you have a hankering for something sweet, but you don’t want to spend too much, go buy your local panaderia. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth.

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